


Old Scars/Future Hearts

by Slay_Minho_Slay



Category: The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Slow Build, Sorta an AU, dylmas - Freeform, little bit of angst?? kinda
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-05
Updated: 2015-07-31
Packaged: 2018-03-21 10:18:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 3,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3688497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slay_Minho_Slay/pseuds/Slay_Minho_Slay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thomas and Dylan are in first grade when they meet for the first time.  Instantly a friendship starts and they become inseparable.  Then in middle school everything changes.  Dylan moves away and they both forget about each other.  That is until they both get roles in The Maze Runner.  <br/>(I'm sorry I'm bad at summaries.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

Have you ever met a person and instantly known that they would become a really important role in your life? Well, the second I met Dylan O'Brien I knew that. Our friendship began in first grade. Some kid named Will had asked to borrow my crayons and of course I let him. He returned them all to me broken in half. I was a rather sensitive kid so I burst into tears. The teacher sent me into the hallway to try and calm down for a while. Then a boy with the biggest chocolate brown eyes I've ever seen and brown hair comes up to me.   
"Why are you crying? Did somebody hurt you?". He asks with the sweetest sounding voice any human could possibly have.   
"No it's fine. Don't worry about it." I replied while wiping my eyes. He picked up on my lie and sat on the floor next to me.   
"You don't have to tell me why you're crying but I'm going to stay here until you stop being sad." He put his arm around me and brought me close to him.   
"You don't even know what my name is. Why are you being so nice?" I asked him as my breathing started to go back to normal.  
"My mom taught me that I should be nice to everyone no matter what. And my name's Dylan. What's yours"   
"It's Thomas."  
"Well now we know each others names." He looked at me and gave a giant smile, brighter than the sun itself. When I was fully calm again he helped me stand up and gave me a bear hug before going back to whatever class he was supposed to be in.   
"Are we friends now?". I called after him once he started walking away. He didn't say anything but simply just flashed another smile and a thumbs up. I smiled and walked back into my classroom.


	2. Chapter Two

That was just the beginning of what ended up becoming a long complicated history between us. Dylan and I had instantly clicked and I knew our friendship was something special. We were inseparable for the longest time. That is, until Will came back into my life. The kid who had broken my favorite crayons in first grade. He apparently hadn't forgotten that incident either.

It was the first day of third grade when I had another encounter with him. Dylan and I were standing around talking at recess when I noticed Will staring at me. I excused myself from Dylan and made my way over to him.

"Hey you're Thomas, right?" He asked me as soon as I got close to him.

"Yeah, and you're Will?"

"Yeah I just wanted to say sorry for that time I broke your crayons. It was totally an accident. I-I just have strong hands, I guess." He looked at the ground as he spoke.

"Its okay." I gave him a small smile and started to turn away.

"Oh wait! Do you wanna maybe play with me?" His eyes got bigger as he asked and his face turned a little pink.

"Yeah, sure! Just let me go get Dylan."

The three of us started spending more and more time together, but sometimes Dylan couldn't make it and it was just Will and me. I found myself really liking the time we spent alone together. One day in fourth grade particularly stuck out. Dylan had caught the flu so Will and I decided to go to the park alone. On the walk there our arms kept brushing against each other and the touches sent shivers through my body. It must be the breeze, I thought to myself. The actual visit to the park was unremarkable, and wouldn't have been memorable if it weren't for the way I noticed for the first time how beautiful his smile was, then and there. I remember how when we hugged goodbye my stomach got all warm and my head felt fuzzy.

Looking back, it was something I probably should have tried to figure out, but I was in third grade, so I brushed it off. Every time the feelings started coming back I shoved them down. It worked just fine for about two years. Then everything started to change, and not so much for the good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey sorry I didn't post sooner my ex coauthor decided she didn't want to write it anymore so I had to. Thank you so much for reading this and thank you for giving kudos if you did and commenting if you did. Oh and I promise this won't turn into a Will and Thomas fic I have this all planned out already. This is getting long so I should shut up. But before I do, big thanks to runner_love for betaing this for me and being such a great person! If you guys like Minewt or Thomesa you should totally check her out.


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three:  
It took me about a year to finally accept what I was feeling. There was a reason why I never really found interest in girls and why I was so enticed by Will and even by Dylan when we first met. I'm gay and I had a huge crush on Will. I didn't really want to have a crush on him because Will was and still is one of my best friends. Hell, he was one of my only friends at the time. I tried to ignore the feelings any time I was around him. It worked for a while but eventually I just couldn't keep things in anymore. I needed to talk to someone about everything and I obviously couldn't tell Will. There was only one other person that I could trust. Dylan. It was in sixth grade when I decided I should try and talk to him. We were at his house without Will for once and I saw the chance and I took it. 

"Dylan I need to tell you something." There was so much fear and nervousness coming from my voice. My voice started shaking and I hoped he wouldn't notice.

"You can tell me anything Thomas." He flashed a smile at me and it sent a wave of reassurance through my body. 

"I-I think...never mind." I couldn't do it. I was so scared that it would change things between us and I didn't want to lose my best friend. 

"It's okay, you can tell me." He looked concerned as he put a hand on my shoulder. I shook my head and tried changing topics to no avail. "Just tell me! Please?" Dylan was begging me.

"Fine! I think I'm gay." The last part came out more as a whisper. When he didn't say anything I thought maybe he didn't hear me but I looked up and saw his stunned face. 

"Get out of my house.". He finally spoke after what seemed like an eternity. I could feel my heart snapping in half. This is not what was supposed to happen. I wanted anything but this to happen.

" Dylan please don't do this." I could feel the tears starting to come. They weren't the silent kind of tears that would come out slowly and stop soon after they started. No, they were the kind that made a lump in your throat and came spilling out fast making ugly sobs escape your mouth.

"Get out of my house. I can't be friends with a-"

"Don't you dare go there Dylan. I'm leaving you don't have to worry about seeing me again." I walked out of his room slamming the door. I thought that maybe this could actually go alright and he would still be my friend and he would support me. I guess I was wrong. 

"Oh Thomas dear, are you alright? Why are you leaving so soon?" Dylan's mom stopped me before I could reach the door.

"Yeah I'm fine. My parents just want me home early tonight." I tried to force a smile at her as I rushed to the door. 

"It's okay dear. It'll all be fine." She hugged me as soon as my hand turned the doorknob. This was what I loved about Dylan's mom she treated me just like I was her son too. She didn't need to know what was wrong. 

"Thank you so much." I whispered as she let go and sent me out the door. 

People stared on the walk back to my house. I mean who wouldn't stare at the weird kid bawling his eyes out walking past them. I tried calming myself down but I couldn't. I knew I lost my best friend for good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is sad but necessary so don't hate me. Thank you so much for reading! Leave a comment if you want because my heart does weird things when I see comments. <3


	4. Chapter Four

After the incident with Dylan, the only person I really had left was Will. Naturally, I ran straight to him after leaving Dylan's. It must have been sort of weird, having me show up on his doorstep with tears running down my face with no explanation. It was even weird for me because the main reason I told Dylan I was gay was because I couldn't tell Will. That stupid crush had stopped me. But right then...I just needed someone and he was all I had. The only place I could turn to.

"Oh my god, Thomas, what happened to you?" Will said as soon as the door opened.

"I need someone to talk to," I managed to get out through the sobs still escaping my lips.

"Come here," he pulled me into a giant hug. I guess I was too upset to still get the butterflies in my stomach. "You can tell me whenever you're ready. I promise I'll be here for you."

"Thank you." I sobbed into his chest. Will led me up to his room so I could pull myself together. After a while my breathing started to go back to normal and the tears stopped shortly after.

"Do you wanna tell me exactly what happened now?" Will asked me.

"I-I told Dylan something and he... didn't take it well." My voice was hoarse from all the violent sobs that came from my mouth just minutes before. 

"Do you feel like telling me what you told him?"

"I'm gay. I-I like boys." I managed to get the words out without too much stuttering. I looked at Will hopeful that he wouldn't do what Dylan did. His response was actually kind of shocking.

"Oh, Thomas. It's okay to be gay. You're still my friend and I promise this won't change a thing." He smiled pulling me into a hug. I couldn't help the grin spreading across my face. "I mean I already had a suspicion with they way you looked at Dylan." I definitely was not expecting him to say that.

"Dylan? What do you mean? I thought I looked at him like anybody else."

"Never mind, it's nothing. I just always thought you and Dylan had something going on."

"Well I can't say I was expecting you to say that."

"Sorry, forget I said that, it obviously isn't true. So do you want to go do something?" Will spit out quickly.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------  
And that was that. Will and his other friends accepted me into their little family. Dylan did not keep what I told him to himself. When I showed up to school the next time everyone knew and clearly it wasn't Will who had told them. Dylan had quickly formed a new group of friends who all took turns throwing their words at me like they were knives. Every time I looked into his eyes and no longer saw the warm glow that seemed to be just for me, it stung.

Was he always like this and just hiding it? Or was this something new? So many questions were plaguing my mind. But the biggest one was why he was doing this when when he promised he'd always be there. Every day at school instead of meeting his warm gaze first thing, I would try and avoid all eye contact because as soon as he noticed me the torment began.

The words wouldn't have bothered me as much if it were someone else, but coming from Dylan it tore me apart. Will was always there on the worst days. He became practically like a brother to me and the crush had gone completely. He was even there when I came out to my family a few months after the incident.

That brings us to now, about a year after all that I'm riding my bike around the neighborhood. The sidewalks are awful and I end up falling off the bike. I look for cuts and scrapes and the damage isn't too bad. It is bleeding quite a bit though.

"Hey are you alright?" A familiar voice calls out to me.

"Yeah sorry I didn't realize this was your house. I'll leave." I go to pick up my bike and leave but a pair of hands grab my wrists, stopping me.

"You're bleeding a lot. Come inside and I'll help you get cleaned up." Those warm chocolate brown eyes peer into mine.

"What?" This makes absolutely no sense. Dylan should not be helping me. He shouldn't be wanting to help me. He's the one who hurt me a year ago, and tormented me at school every day with his friends.

"I promise I'm not going to hurt you just come in." He starts pulling me to the door of his house and I don't protest. After all he's done to me I still trust him with all my heart.

"Dylan, you really don't need to. I'm fine, I swear." I lied. It hurts a lot, but I hate getting help.

"I know you better than to be fooled by your lies." He grabs bandages and some kind of disinfectant. He took me into his bedroom and makes me sit on his bed while he cleans up my wounds.

"Why are you doing this?" I finally spoke up again.

"I'm moving away next week and I don't want to leave on bad terms with you. You were my best friend and I don't think I would be able to live with myself knowing that possibly the last time I ever saw you, you hated me." He finishes putting on the last bandage and sits next to me on the bed.

"You really think this will fix what you've done to me?" I can't bring myself to look him in the eyes because I know I'll get lost in the warmth they provide.

"No, but I want to fix things between us. I know I probably can't but I want to." I can't feel him staring at me.

"Dylan, I told you something that wasn't easy for me to say and you completely left me. You tortured me at school with your friends for the past year. I don't think I can ever forgive you." I stand up, ready to leave.

"I know I've been a horrible person to you, but I just want you to know that I'm done. I'll tell all my friends to stop and they'll never bother you again. I'm really sorry." Dylan stood up next to me.

"I just want to know one thing before I leave. Why now? Why are you doing all of this now?"

"I realized something." Dylan steps closer to me.

"What did you realize?"

"I can't say." He avoids looking into my eyes again and instead opted for looking at the floor.

"Dylan, just tell me. This is the last time we'll see each other maybe forever. You can tell me." I make him look up at me.

"I really can't tell you. I think its best if you just leave now." He dropped his gaze once more.

"Fine, have a good life Dylan." I walk angrily out the door. As soon as I get to my bike Dylan comes running out the door.

"Thomas, wait!" He comes up to me.

"What are you-" He doesn't let me finished my sentence. He cuts me off by pressing his lips onto mine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this! I think I actaullly really liked this chapter even though I'm going a little off course from my original plan. So I hope you like it! And sorry for my horrible posting schedule it takes me a while to plan out the chapters plus I was super busy with school and I had track but now track is over and school is almost over. So hopefully I'll be posting a lot more. But maybe not next week because its my birthday on the 15th and I get to go to a concert that day and I have other stuff with family planned that week and such and wow I can't shut up. You probably don't care anyways so bye!


	5. Chapter Five

The kiss doesn't last very long before I push him away.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?  You can't do this.  You can't be a complete ass to me for a whole year, then give me a shitty apology and kiss me.  And moving away is no excuse."

"I'm so sorry I-"

"I don't care, Dylan.  You really hurt me and I don't know if I can ever forgive you. Goodbye."

"Thomas wait!  I can make this better.  I'm sorry."  Dylan tries talking to me but it's too late.  I don't want to get hurt by him again.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------  
I want nothing more than to be able to forget Dylan O'Brien.  I wish I could just erase him out of my memory for good.  Unfortunately, that isn't how things work.  

It's been a week since the kiss.  Dylan will be moving today.  I'll never have to see him again.  The thought makes me ecstatic because I'll never have to deal with another awkward encounter with him, but I'll also never be able to see the way his face lights up when he laughs.  I won't get to see the warm glow in his eyes again.

He's gone now. I can't stop myself from thinking about him anytime someone mentions his favorite color or flavor of ice cream.  It's just the kind of things being best friends with him for so long engraved into my brain. I don't want to miss him after everything that's happened.  I want to hate him.  But I can't bring myself to do it. My memoires with him will always be my favorites.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG I am so sorry I haven't updated in such a long time. My mental health issues have been sort of flaring up recently, making it hard for me to do anything. Then there was my birthday which was busy and then I got sick. An I'm still sick but I really needed to update so that's why this chapter is so short. Sorry for rambling. Anyways don't forget to leave comments and kudos if you liked it because when I see it my heart just sort of jumps. I love you for reading this and I guess that's all for now. <3 <3


	6. Chapter Six

About a year after Dylan moved away, I started getting into acting. I've always been a fantastic liar so acting seemed like a great choice. I landed roles in movies. Like actual movies. Life was going great and I was slowly forgetting Dylan. That is until I stumbled across his YouTube channel. I was just trying to entertain myself one day when I was sick. I recognized his face in one of the related videos and couldn't stop myself. I clicked play and the video started.

The video was of Dylan lip syncing to a song I can't remember the name of. He looked absolutely ridiculous as usual. And as it continued on the video did exactly what I expected. It made me realize that I miss Dylan. I can't help it. I can try and not care about him but nothing will ever work. He'll always be an important part of my childhood that I can't forget.

It hurts to think how things have changed from when I spoke to him last. I've never been a fan of moving on or growing up. Wanting to hold onto things for as long as I possibly can is why I've always felt a deep connection with Peter Pan. If things are good, I guess I just want them to stay that way in fear that they'll get bad again.

I shut off the video before it ends. I can't focus on him again. After everything he's done you think I would learn. That I would stop wanting him back in my life. I think that I'll always want him though. I'll always wonder what things would have been like if we stayed friends. Would he still have kissed me before moving away? Would we still be taking right now? Or would him moving away still ruined any possibility we had of something?

That's the thing that really sucks about life. There are endless things that could have gone differently or not have happened at all. Things that could change every aspect of your life. Things that could end your life. But the thing is, none of it happened. So it's like it doesn't even matter thinking about how things could have been/be because that's not how things are. Even if you wish it's how they were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow guys it's been a while. I'm sorry for being a horrible updater things just got a little too much for me to handle in the mental area. So I took a little break from writing to save everyone from having to deal with my really sad writing. Anyways I couldn't let a whole month pass without posting so here it is. I know it's bad, this was my last favorite thing I've ever written but it was necessary. I'm also sorry for how short this was. I'll hopefully post more soon. Thank you so much for reading and as always leave comments to make my heart stop for a minute. I'll talk to you guys soon. Also as a side note I haven't slept in a really REALLY long time so I'm sorry if things get a bit confusing. <3


	7. Chapter Seven

*2011*  
My acting career is still going well. I've honestly never been so happy in life until now. It seems like everything is going perfectly and I plan on enjoying it while it lasts. Dylan hasn't really crossed my mind in years. I've been too focused on my career to worry about the boy I was friends with as a child. I found that it's a lot easier to get over something if you aren't forced to deal with it everyday. 

Have you ever heard someone say that once you graduate you find that the only reason you were friends with people was because you saw them five days a week? That's completely true. Once someone even moves away, you just sort of forget about them. You can keep in touch for a while but it never lasts. No one at my school kept talking about Dylan so moving on became a piece of cake. 

I recently turned 21. I never want my birthday to be a big deal but my friends and family always insist. The only friend I've kept in touch with from school is Will. He's a really amazing actor as well. He really is like a brother to me. He and my family threw me this big party and it ended up being nice. I liked being surrounded by everyone I love.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Everyone seems to be talking about this new show "Teen Wolf" and normally I wouldn't really give it a second thought but some of the cast seemed familiar. I looked online for the first episode and quickly found it. The opening credits started and the name Dylan seemed to stand out but I couldn't tell exactly why. That changed in the next few minutes when he showed up on the screen. I recognized him even after all these years. It's his eyes that give it away. I'll always be able to recognize those eyes. 

I'm not still bitter over something from my childhood so watching him didn't bring up any feeling in particular. I'm just happy for him. He's doing a great job of playing the character and he seems to have quite a few fans. I hope he's happy with what he's doing. I know I am.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG SO I DIDN'T PLAN ON UPDATING TODAY BUT I WAS SO HAPPY I HAD TO. ALL 50 STATES HAVE NOW LEGALIZED SAME-SEX MARRIAGE! Okay sorry for the caps but I'm so happy about this!!! This isn't the end of things but it's a huge step and I'm so excited for the future of things. So to celebrate I'm updating this story and maybe (?) posting a newtmas one shot later on tonight. We'll see but anyways yeah I'm just so happy about this and yeah. I love you all for reading!!! Thank you so much for leaving all the comments and kudos it makes my heart just swell up! <3 <3 <3 <3


	8. Not a new chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry guys

Okay so this isn't an update and I don't think there will be any more updates in the future. I'm just not really inspired to write this story anymore and I think it's time to just let it go. I'm sorry if I disappoint any of you. All of the comments and kudos have really meant the world to me because I thought no one would like anything I ever wrote. I will be writing more stories hopefully in the near future I just think it's time to end this one. I want to thank you all for reading what there is of this story and saying all the nice things you've said. I don't really know what else to say but if you guys have any questions or anything to say just comment. Thanks for giving this story a chance! Maybe I'll see you guys soon with a different story until then, goodbye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was actually kind of painful to write

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the first time I ever posted on here so I hope you like it. I know it's kinda short but the chapters will probably get longer as they're written. Oh and the title is from an All Time Low song so yeah its not mine. I just thought it fit well with what I have planned for the story. I'm starting to rant now so just tell me what you think?


End file.
